サンプル･スターシップ

Pages 306–315 present a handful of ship models common (or at least well-known) within the Pact Worlds and allied planets. While these have been divided into particular groups, this doesn’t mean that only characters of that group can be found flying these ships. Rather, each group reflects the stylistic differences in starship designs and chassis due to the cultural heritage and preferences of the manufacturers. For example, since Veskarians developed starship travel independently of the Pact World races, their ship designs naturally have a different feel, showcasing their race’s particular aesthetics and values. Thanks to interplanetary trade, however, no one in the Pact Worlds today thinks it odd to find a vesk flying a shirren-style ship, or vice versa. Furthermore, most shipbuilding consortiums have seen the advantages of interchangeable parts, meaning repairing a ship of one style with parts salvaged from another is usually effective.
Even within a given group, however, starships are not uniform. The Pact Worlds alone have dozens of starship manufacturers, each with its own unique models and specializations, and these have been modified further to meet the goals of their clients. While more unusual ships―from Kuthite Shadowtears, whose tortured pilots lance through enemy formations like spears, to the massive Iomedaean cathedralships, whose proprietary archon drives carry legions of armored crusaders to regions of the galaxy under threat―aren’t detailed here, they do exist. Whatever your specific needs, there’s a starship company out there ready to build you the perfect ship―if you can afford it!

Eoxian Ship Styles

Unlike many Pact Worlds, Eox has never fully offered its ship technology to the wider market―nor is anyone particularly eager for them to. That’s because Eoxian ships
are grotesque, baroque blendings of technology and strange magic, designed specifically for the comfort of their undead users. Atmosphere is an unnecessary inconvenience for most elebrians, and thus many Eoxian ships are open to the void in places, their hulls shaped like the rib cages of great beasts. (In some cases, this is actual truth, with walls or ornaments built from the bones of some of the largest creatures to wander the planes, but more often these frames are made of hardened ceramic or nanocarbon.) Unshielded reactors flood engineering levels with devastating radiation, galleys and sleeping quarters are rarely required, and skeletal repair crews and fire teams skitter along the outer hulls even in the hottest dogfights without so much as a safety line, heedless of the void yawning above their heads. Small wonder, then, that only the Bone Sages and their subjects would fly such monstrosities.
Of all the starship styles presented here, Eoxian-style ships are those most strongly associated with the race that developed them, and they are primarily owned by elebrians and other undead, whether they be government officials, private citizens, or members of the rogue Corpse Fleet―the exiled branch of the Eoxian Navy that now preys on citizens of the Pact Worlds. Yet, Eoxian ships retrofitted to accommodate living creatures are favored by some criminal organizations and mercenaries looking to intimidate their foes, or smugglers hoping that no one will bother―or dare―to interfere with what appears to be a Bone Sage courier ship. And of course, like any sensible plutocrats, the Bone Sages maintain ships capable of safely transporting and defending their many living servants and business partners from other worlds.
Some of the largest manufacturers of Eoxian-style ships are Death’s Head, makers of the coffin-like Necroglider fighters, whose pilots fly feet-first toward the enemy; Blackwind Engineering, which operates out of Orphys; and Thaumtech Unlimited, whose self-contained mining-manufactories are scattered throughout the Thousand Moons. Though sometimes owned outright by a single Bone Sage, most of these companies do their best to remain neutral, as they can make as much money from bribes and politicking as they do from their starships. After all, no Bone Sage wants to take the chance of a rival gaining a technological advantage, and thus it can be quite profitable to agree not to sell one’s starships to particular clients. Often, these same companies use the vast resources thus acquired to fund their research and development teams, creating ever more dangerous weapons that they can sell to their benefactors, quietly peddle off-planet, or license to manufacturers unrestrained by undead politics.

Kasathan Ship Styles

Nearly all new kasathan-style ships found in the Pact Worlds are manufactured by the government of the Idari, produced in the ship’s massive state-run engineering
bays called the Crucibles. Those few kasathan ships old enough to have arrived in the system alongside the Idari―perhaps even having been manufactured on Kasath itself―are either worthless or priceless: pitted and rusting hulks just barely holding together, or marvels of custom engineering reserved for the Doyenate and their top emissaries and warriors.
Kasathan ships are generally artistic and graceful, with smooth, ornate designs perfected long ago and only reluctantly modified to incorporate technological advances. While kasathan ships are in some ways similar to designs originating in the Pact Worlds, with their smaller vessels echoing the predatory spearheads of atmospheric combat, other aspects of their design befuddle human pilots. Consider, for instance, the classic Idaran Trigrammaton heavy fighter, feared for both its speed and the number of armaments it can bring to bear on anyone entering the vicinity of the Idari without permission. Unlike most fighters, which carry a single pilot, or at most a pilot and a gunner, Trigrammatons require three crew members who share roles in perfect synchronization, giving them an unparalleled awareness of their surroundings and the enemy and allowing them to pull off maneuvers that leave solo pilots shaking in their flight suits. While not all kasathan ships are this unique, even their most basic freighters often look stately and regal, generally incorporating a number of secondary pod-hulls or outriggers. Kasathan ships can also often be recognized by the golden sheen of their canopies and viewports. This is the result of a proprietary acrylic-like material called esaris, which is capable of shielding pilots from blinding light or radiation and incorporating incredibly detailed active displays while preserving perfect clarity. Though other manufacturers have attempted for years to buy, retroengineer, or steal the formula, so far they have all failed, with rumors circulating that the material has some greater significance known only to the Doyenate, possibly related to the Outer Planes.
Another feature that sets kasathan ships apart is their modularity. Unlike normal ships, some kasathan ships use magnetic field locks instead of conventional welds, allowing them to bind parts together without them actually touching, or even rearrange sections into new configurations on the fly. Few sights can compare to the eerie beauty of an Idaran Saga- class warship spreading its wings in preparation for battle, and these locks also allow some of the largest ships to break apart into smaller, individually self-sufficient units when necessary, either to abandon damaged modules or to better surround and entrap an enemy.

Pact Worlds Ship Styles

The Pact Worlds have a long history of travel between the planets of their solar system, stretching back even before the Gap via magical portals and the technomagical
aetherships of Verces. As trade increased and spaceflight became more commonplace, ideas flowed quickly and furiously, with designs converging as various corporations and militaries stole or purchased the best advances from other worlds. Castrovelian shipyards known for their delicate fins and speed in a vacuum adopted the ruggedness of Akiton’s sandstorm-blasted atmospheric fliers, while both incorporated the latest drive systems and armament advances from Verces and Absalom Station, plus powerful (but carefully limited) Aballonian AIs to aid in every aspect of piloting and navigation. Today, millennia after those early ships, the most common ship designs in the Pact Worlds have blended together so thoroughly that most are no longer strongly associated with any particular race, but simply with the system as a whole.
Whether produced by AbadarCorp’s ATech subsidiary, Castrovel’s Kevolari Collective, Sanjaval Spaceflight Systems of Akiton, Verces’ Ringworks Industries, or any of a thousand smaller shops, Pact Worlds ships tend to share certain similar features. Many of the smaller freighters and fighters show their evolution from atmospheric jet fighters and orbital spacecraft, with functional wings, fins, and streamlined profiles. This grace gives way to the blocky bulk of larger ships that will never be used in an atmosphere, yet even massive ships like the ATech Immortal Series―a staple of the Stewards’ peacekeeping fleet― possess a certain severe, military beauty.
Despite sharing certain elements of design, the umbrella of Pact World ship chassis contains plenty of diversity. No one is likely to confuse a dwarven rock-hopper from the Diaspora’s mining worlds for a big-bellied, ysoki-operated Sanjaval Redsun trader, let alone an Aballonian autofreighter or Skyfire Legion carrier. Even ships of the same model can still vary wildly thanks to paint schemes, decorative body flourishes, and other aftermarket modifications, and many captains choose their ships’ aesthetics as carefully as their own clothes. Certain factions employ only a single brand of ship, while others are a hodgepodge of makes and models.
Not all groups within the Pact Worlds have allowed economic incentives to draw them into the engineering melting pot, however. In addition to the Eoxians (see page 306), many other Pact Worlds peoples have maintained proprietary designs, from the sleek, magical vessels of Kyonin’s elves to the half-sentient biological vessels of the Brethedans and Xenowardens, and more.

Shrren Ship Styles

Based on Swarm technology, shirren ships are manufactured in dry docks like any other, yet incorporate organic parts grown in specialized assembly vats. Often off-putting to
members of other races, the twisting, hive-like corridors on shirren ships make the insect people feel instantly at home.
Since shirren technology originated as an almost entirely biological enterprise, the ships resemble shirrens in many ways. Smooth, shell-like hulls guard blisters of eye-like windows and clusters of thin, protruding weapons and sensor arrays. While the Swarm (and thus, by extension, shirrens) learned to incorporate more conventional industrial processes as it overwhelmed and consumed other races, it never quite lost its instinctive desire to model its creations upon itself. From the wasplike Drone Mk III to the hulking Titan Haulers, shirren ships are known for their dependability and versatility, and they can often be found retrofitted with accommodations for non-shirren races. Still, not every mechanic likes dealing with a ship whose components might bleed or shudder when operated upon.
A variety of organizations produce shirren-style ships, often including as many members of other races as shirrens themselves. The largest, the pacifist collective Hivonyx Industries, churns out a tremendous number of freighters and couriers, but includes software locking all the ship’s armaments to keep them from firing unless the ship has first taken damage―restrictions most of their customers immediately remove. Hivonyx’s closest competitors, Starhive and United Interfaith Engineering, publicly respect their rival’s moral stance, yet add no such safeguards.

Veskarium Ship Styles

Like vesk themselves, Veskarium-style ships tend to be brutish and pugnacious. They bristle with weapons and armor without regard for aesthetics, and many of their shapes
were originally inspired by the sharklike reptilian predators in the seas of Vesk-2.
Though the Veskarium is a monolithic military-industrial complex, its government is strangely permissive of its manufacturers selling ships to its rivals. Some believe this is due to the vesk’s inherent sense of honor―there’s little joy in beating a poorly armed opponent―while others fear government- mandated back doors into ship AIs, or chalk it up to the power of crony capitalism. Regardless, Veskarium ships are extremely popular among the rough-and-tumble sorts of the Pact Worlds: corporations, criminals, and mercenaries that need a lot of firepower without a lot of questions. Most military organizations old enough to remember the war with the Veskarium, such as the Stewards and the Knights of Golarion, respect the vessels but would never include them in their fleets. Ships by the Norikama Syndicate, based on a neutral colony world of the same name and specializing in knockoffs of other companies’ designs, are most commonly encountered in Pact Worlds space, yet many ships by Veskarium-based corporations such as Dashadz Industries, Vindicas, and the Blood Mountain Clans regularly make their way into circulation via military salvage, the gray market, or honest sale. Perhaps the most common and recognizable of all Veskarium ships is the BMC Mauler. With its distinctive Y-shaped outline, created by wing arms descending to the central bubble cockpit, the Mauler proves shockingly maneuverable and once chewed through squadrons of Pact Worlds defenders. Today, the Mauler remains the default fighter on most vesk carriers and serves as the weapon of choice for vesk pilots engaging in honor duels.